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A new analysis from Issue One finds that half of all counties in 11 Western states have lost their chief election official since the 2020 election, underscoring a deepening workforce crisis driven largely by stress, threats, and burnout — not electoral defeat or term limits.
“This isn’t just normal turnover,” the report’s authors wrote in the report, released in advance to Votebeat. “Veteran officials are opting to head for the exits,” taking with them institutional knowledge that can be difficult and costly for local governments to replace.
The study by Issue One, a nonprofit group that works on election and democracy issues, examined post-2020 trends in local election administration in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, and found widespread turnover among top local election officials.
The findings build on earlier research showing elevated departures after the 2020 election but suggest the trend has not eased even after the 2024 presidential race. In 2025 alone, 53 chief local election officials in Western states left their jobs, nearly matching the 55 who departed in the year after the 2020 election.
Election officials have long described their work as demanding and under-resourced, but scrutiny of the profession intensified after false claims of widespread voter fraud gained traction following President Donald Trump’s loss in 2020. Since then, election administrators across the country have reported burnout and serious job-related health consequences, along with harassment, intimidation, and threats — pressures that the report links directly to the pace of resignations.
The issue has become more pressing in recent weeks, as the Trump administration has ramped up attacks on local administrators. While lack of funding, increased local legislation, and scrutiny have continued, Issue One Policy Director Michael McNulty said the administration’s willingness to issue search warrants and file lawsuits means “we are in a different world now.”
The pressure has been especially intense in places where elections are most contested or draw outsize media attention. The report found that 80% of counties where the 2020 presidential election was decided by five percentage points or less experienced turnover, compared with just 40% of counties where margins exceeded 50 percentage points. Large, populous counties also saw higher rates of departures than smaller rural jurisdictions.
In California’s Shasta County, Clerk and Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen retired in 2024 after nearly two decades in the role, citing heart failure and the need to reduce stress. Her successor resigned less than a year later for similar health-related reasons, underscoring how quickly the pressure can take a toll.
In Nevada, longtime Clark County Registrar Joe Gloria said threats escalated to the point that police were checking on his home hourly — and that his family was also targeted. “That’s when it did feel a bit different,” Gloria told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, explaining why he ultimately left after nearly 10 years running elections in the state’s most populous county.
Why election officials keep quitting
Taken together, the data and anecdotes point to a workforce under long-building strain, particularly in places where elections are most closely watched. The report suggests that the very conditions that have made election administration increasingly demanding in recent years — high turnout, national attention, legal challenges, and persistent scrutiny — are also the ones driving experienced officials away, leaving many jurisdictions heading toward the 2026 midterms with less institutional memory and thinner leadership benches than they had just a few years ago.
Michael Beckel, research director at Issue One, said that while localities and universities are investing in durable training programs and peer mentorship for new election administrators, much of what it takes to run an election well comes from experience.
“So many times, if there are small mistakes that happen in election administration, it’s human error,” he said.
The concern is not simply that new officials lack commitment or skill, but that they are being asked to take on increasingly complex jobs in a politically hostile environment. The report found that many departures occurred mid-term and that turnover remained high even after the 2024 presidential election, suggesting that the pressures driving officials out have not eased.
“We are not out of the woods yet,” said Beckel. While new officials are coming in “with their eyes wide open” to the new pressures, it will still take a significant increase in support to lower turnover rates ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
Stabilizing an exhausted workforce
The report argues that the turnover trend is not inevitable — but reversing it will require political leaders to reduce pressures on election officials rather than add to them.
Among its recommendations, Issue One calls for stronger protections against threats, harassment, and doxxing of election workers, noting that election infrastructure is already designated as critical infrastructure under federal law. While dozens of states have criminalized intimidation of election officials, the report says enforcement and broader political condemnation of threats remain uneven.
The report also calls for increased funding and staffing support for local election offices, which often absorb new legal and security demands without additional resources. Limiting unfunded mandates, curbing last-minute changes to election law, and investing in recruitment and retention programs — including fellowships that bring new workers into election offices — could help stabilize a workforce strained by burnout, the authors say. Without sustained investment, they warn, jurisdictions will enter future elections with fewer experienced leaders and little margin for error.
“Counties can’t do this alone,” said Beckel. “It really takes people working in partnership and across the aisle to stop re-ligitating the past and to stop treating conspiracy theories as truth.”
Jessica Huseman is Votebeat’s editorial director and is based in Dallas. Contact Jessica at jhuseman@votebeat.org.
